minnesota

mineapolis revisited

Our flight got messed up on our way home so we stayed another night in Minneapolis. We arrived back in town in the late afternoon so we checked in to a hotel:
And then hurried over for a late snack at the American Girl Doll store. 
Such a good dad and such a good sport. 
We decided to just keep it low key and relax before our early flight the next day. We walked around the gigantic Mall , visited the Peeps store and checked out a few other stores (again, we’re not big shoppers). We settled in for dinner at the Mall which had the saltiest food I think I’ve ever eaten. Even B said it was too salty…and that’s saying a lot! 
Annabelle was so tired of cheese curds. We ordered them at every meal and had to sample and compare. She was over it!
Luckily our hotel had a pool. The parents were worn out from travel and the long car ride, but the kids were still ready to go! They swam while we relaxed and it was the perfect end to a lovely little get away. 

duluth

The second stop on our trip was Duluth, about a 2.5 hour drive north of Minneapolis. Our nephew, Nathan just started college here in August. It’s a smaller town of maybe 80,000 + and the school has about 4,000 students which seems to suit Nathan well. 
Nathan gave us a tour of his dorm, which brought back many happy memories from our college years, and he showed us around campus. I hope he is really happy there. College was such a great time for me and I hope he has a great experience too. 
B’s sister and brother-in-law drove from Ashland, which is about 1 1/2 hours away, to meet us for dinner. We spent the evening catching up and then we surprised the girls with a stay at a local indoor water park. The hotel was similar to Great Wolf Lodge, but perhaps a bit more shabby. The girls didn’t mind at all though. They had a blast swimming their little hearts out.
She’s just the silliest: 
Annabelle’s swim suit tore right up the back. We caught it with one last thread to spare and had to head to the gift shop to get a new suit. Disaster averted. 
The girls woke up early the next morning and they had the pools all to themselves. B and I took turns getting ready and packing up the car while they played. 
And then off we went to Ashland. 
So long Duluth, you are quite pretty right there on the lake! 

minneapolis

We used the girls’ fall break to visit B’s sister, Christi. Christi and her family live in Northern Wisconsin, in a very small town (8,000 people) so we had to get creative on our travel out there. We flew to Minneapolis and spent the night at the Mall of American before heading out on the next leg of our journey. We had never been to Minnesota and we’re always up for an adventure so here we go…
We got to the airport early and had a lovely lunch at Root Down. 
American Girl dolls joined us for our journey:
Oh, these two:
I’m always the one behind the camera but trying to be better about that: 
We arrived to Minneapolis just in time to grab a quick snack at our hotel…
…and then off toNickelodeon Universe in the Mall. 
That is one crazy mall and we are not big shoppers, but the indoor amusement park was pretty great. It was a Thursday night and we had the place nearly to ourselves. We rode all the rides and never had to wait in line. 
And off they go: 
hilarious!
Annabelle is our thrill seeker. She loves all the rides. Gwyneth not so much. This was the ride that did her in. We went as a family and she hated it. She was tough though and didn’t cry, but I think she really wanted to. After this we split up. B and I each took turns going on roller coasters with Annabelle and then some of the more gently, swing kind of rides with Gwyneth. 
This is more up Gwyneth’s alley…
We took advantage of the after 5 deal at the park and stayed until closing time. We rode all the rides and had a blast! 
The next morning we packed up our rental car and went for lunch in downtown Minneapolis. We received a great recommendation for Hell’s Kitchen. The food was delicious and we got our first sampling of cheese curds (the first of many on our trip). 
I enjoyed Minneapolis. I loved all the walkaways connecting the buildings so you don’t freeze in the winter. It was a very fun first stop on our trip.